Nature of The soul
by Lonesome Sage
Summary: Frisk is in arms reach of returning to the surface with everyone, but there is one friend left to save. How will she do it, and what consequences will arise for them and everyone? Note: Rating and genres may yet change.
1. To save and to live

**A/N: Greetings, my readers! Or maybe just 'Howdy'?**

 **Anyway, I'm really excited to be writing this. I've dabbled before, but this is my first 'serious' fanfiction, or so I like to tell myself. Like so many, The true pacifist ending and Asriels fate, really got to me. I just couldn't let it end that way. More so, I am determined to continue the story in my own unique way, while staying faithful to its spirit and characters. I have big plans already, but I mostly just write as I go. Many fanmde works Inspired me to do this, among them the Dreamer Reborn blog. A great thank you to everyone that made this possible.**

 **Disclaimer: Undertale and all its characters belong to Annoy- er, I mean Toby Fox. Cover image by unknown. (please PM me if you know)**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: To save and to live**

Frisk's footsteps echoed off the ancient purple walls. Only the vines were there to line her path. The Froggits, Moldsmals, and most of the other inhabitants of the Ruins were already on their way to meet with the monsters of Snowdin. Together, they would begin their journey to the surface. Everyone was so excited to see the surface, to see the sky, to feel the sun, and to smell the fresh air that meant a kind of freedom they hadn't known in a long, long time. Even though most were not ready to leave the Underground for good yet, and some were still afraid of the humans, they were eager to get a taste of their bright new future.

Frisks thoughts were interupted by someone singing "Mmh, cha cha cha" to themselves. She looked up just in time to see a lone Migosp dance around the corner. It seemed to enjoy all the space it had to itsself now. The human briefly wondered how these insectoids would do on the surface, but her thoughts quickly returned to the reason she came here. "Asriel..."

Thats right, there was still one more friend to save. Ever since their final battle, Frisk couldn't get the lost Dreemurr child off her mind. As harrowing of an ordeal as it was, the human felt attatched to the boy already, and couldn't bear to turn her back on him, to leave him to the terrible empty fate that awaited him. No, that will NOT happen. There must be a way. There has to be.

 _*(The thought of saving Asriel fills you with_ _DETERMINATION_.)

Her step quickened as she neared the entrance of the Ruins, and the caverns she first fell ito all that time ago.

As the cone of Light came ito view, brighter than ever now that the Barrier was down, her intuiton proved true. There he was, standing at the bed of golden flowers, an old watering can in his paw. His expression was hidden from her by his long fuzzy ears, but it couldnt have been a happy one, seeing as he was just biding his time until... Frisk brushed the thought aside, glad to have found him again, at last. She aproached the goatlike child, making her presence known.

He turned around, his expression somewhere between tired and stunned "F- Frisk? Wha... what are you still doing here?" A wistful smile joined the mix of emotions on his features "Shouldn't you be on your way with the others?" The human gave him a long look that said she wasnt leaving just yet. "Frisk, please... I dont want you to see me... like that again, much less everyone else. I dont have much time-"

"Asriel!" She grasped his Shoulder firmly. "Please, just let me be there for you." The monster opened his mouth to object, but from her tone, and the look in her eye, he knew it was futile. "Haha, I guess should know better than to challenge your determination... thank you for keeping me company Frisk." The two shared a genuine smile. They shared memories and asked eachother questions about their journeys, consoling eachother when it got heavy, and exchanging heartfelt hugs. They settled into the bed of flowers, side by side, occasionally leaning on eachother, lying down, playing around. Frisk was still thinking about what to do, And Asriel knew his time was running out, but for just a while, they could forget everything around them, and just be kids. After such a Long time of struggling with the thousand twists and turns of fate, and also against eachother in a way, this was simply wonderful.

That is, until reality caught up to them, as Asriel collapsed to the ground in pain, clutching at his chest. The human was by his side immediately "Frisk... please go now... it was nice.." He rasped between breaths. Tears welled up in Frisk's eyes. She knew what she had to do. No, what she **wanted** to do. It had been clear to her for a while now, it had to be ether A or B.

Asriel recovered, sitting up, still holding his chest, as if to close a gaping hole. Even now he put on a brave smile, but it was hollow. He was just about to say something more, when Frisk knelt in front of him, holding out her hands. "Frisk, what are you...?" The boy couldn't believe his eyes, between her hands floated a glowing heart, radiating warmth and compassion, basking them in red, and she was... offering it to him?

Frisk nodded assuringly, with a smile to match the radiance of her soul, as if to answer the unspoken question. Asriel was taken aback, and despite his best efforts, started tearing up as well. "Frisk I- I can't take your soul! You would... I couldn't live with myself! Not after everything thats... and then you would..." He choked on his words, but the human stayed determined. "Asriel, I will not be gone, Ill always be there with you... I just want you to live..."

"But you would still be giving up your life for me, and... and I can't let you do this after everything thats happened! I'm... sorry for being ungrateful Frisk... I just wish we could both live, and see everyone, and be friends forever, but.." His sentence died in his mouth, completely at a loss with the situation. Loneliness and apathy were already creeping over his face again, just waiting for the vines to follow. Frisk sighed. Plan B it was.

"Maybe we can."

Asriel looked at her with big eyes, fearful of hoping. "What do you mean?"

He watched as she carefully took hold of the heart with her hands. Thats what it looked like anyway, nether of them were sure how solid or etherial it really was.

She looked at him intensely, but it was hard to read. "What if... I share my soul with you?"

"What?! F-Frisk... youre crazy!" the monster exclaimed in a mix of exasperation and affection. "How do you even know that would work?"

Truthfully, Frisk was terrified of what she was about to to. She had no idea what would happen, or if it would even be possible, but all the times she had stared death in the face during her journey through the Underground steeled her for this moment, and her determination hadn't brought her this far to give out now. Somewhere in her mind, she knew it wouldn't be easy or simple, even if it succeded, but...

"I don't..." she admitted. "But I want to try." And with that she focused on the the manifestation of her soul in her hands.

"Please be careful, Frisk..." Asriel was scared. Scared of becoming a flower again, and scared of loosing Frisk. But stronger still was a newfound hope. After everything they went through, he wanted this to work out too, He wished for it so badly. For both of them. So he mustered his courage, and for the first time in an eternity, dared to trust in hope.

The young prince wiped his eyes, and rested a paw on his friend's shoulder.

"Thank you."

Those two words couldn't begin to describe how he felt, but they seemed to carry the essence of it anyway, as Frisk smiled brightly, confidence steadying her hands.

The human braced herself. She tugged at at the sides of the of the ethereal manifestation, tentively at first, then with more and more vigor. The human grit her teeth. She pulled with all her might, visualizing it splitting in two. But it was not the physical force that finally managed to stretch the halves apart a bit, it was a feeling, a feeling she couldn't quite describe, but it was not unlike determination. The air crackled with power, and as the tension approached a breaking point, it was becoming harder for Asriel to watch the ordeal.

"Frisk? Are you-" The Dreemurr's worry was cut short as soon as he reached out, when there was a flash of white, and something impacted him at high speed. He was sent flying, tumbling out of the flowers. For a minute, all he could do was to cling to conciousness. Then he dug his claws into the dirt and pushed himself up, looking for the cone of light. He found that easily enough, but not his dear new friend.

"Ugh... What happened...? Frisk! ... Where are you?"

he scrambled to his feet, full of concern. He stumbled a few steps, feeling... different. That hollow pain in his chest was now a burning pain, but there was no more time to dwell on it, as he caught sight of a familiar purple-pink shirt. It wasn't moving. "Frisk!" He was with her in a dash, shaking her before carefully turning her over onto her Back. The human seemed lifeless, save for a faint glow that came from her chest. He gasped when he saw the jagged edge of what used to be a full heart. It looked to be shaking, trying to keep itsseld together. It was holding for now, but it was having difficulty reentering her body, which was growing colder by the minute.

"Hang on Frisk! I'll.." _I have to do something!_

Breathing fear and determination, he gingerly reached out to the soul he didn't dare to touch earlier. Then without warning, several long blue things errupted from the ground between them, making him recoil.

They were bones.

"heh, I'd normally give an intro first, or at least say 'heya'..."

Asriel felt his fur stand on end. The voice coming from the ruins entrance seemed casual, but carried an undertone that chilled him to the core. He knew who this was, he'd faced him many a time when he was toying with the Underground as Flowey. Now, it was entirely different. Now he had compassion... and _real_ fear. The distraught child turned his head to the shadowy figure, and it's flaring eye.

"...but I see you didn't wait for me ether, before **taking my friend's soul.** "

Pain and rage reveberated in the caverns. Asriel knew, he was not going to have a good time.

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 **A/N: One chapter in and I'm already emotionally winded. Oh boy. This will be quite a write. I hope I can make it a good read too. So I decided to have Frisk be female, but I wont make her girly, or overly attatched to her gender. I would be loathed to spoil what I have in mind for this fic, but I will say I will do my best to give it a good variety and pacing. I will update as often as I can, but I have only so much time and energy, so I'd rather put my all into every chapter, I'll see how it goes. Feedback is always very much appreciated, as I seek to develop my style, and being able to create something enjoyable means a lot to me.**

 **Thanks for reading, and have a great Day!**

 **~Lonesome Sage**


	2. Of troubles and dreams

**A/N: Okay, so here's chapter two. I have to say, its great to see people from all over the world finding their way here. Unfortunately I lost the file when I was halfway through the chapter, but I managed to reconstruct it pretty closely. Maybe it even turned out better. Fun fact: After the first one, I discovered the 'Half hearted dreamers' blog, and saw that their ideas were similar to what I had in mind. No worries though, Im gonna do my best to Keep it original, and it helped me flesh out my own concepts. Check it out if you like.**

 **Disclaimer: Undertale and all it's characters still belong to Toby Fox.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Of troubles and dreams**

The air was so thick, Asriel could barely get it down his throat. His dearest friend was possibly about to die, and in front of him stood an ominous figure that could spell doom for himself. He was caught between despair, guilt, fear for himself, fear for Frisk, and all the other emotions that bombarded him now that he could feel again. This was an impossible situation.

"S- Sans, let-"

Asriel yelped and rolled away from a magic bone that had almost impaled him. Wide eyes stared at the shadow with the glowing eye, which seemed strangely impassive of current events. It spoke.

"slow down buddo... y'know, for someone who's supposed to be dead right now, youre pretty attatched to your life, prince dreemurr."

Asriels heart sunk. There was a faint hope that his identity would make the skeleton more lenient towards him, but right now it was only making him feel more vulnerable. There was also a good chance that he knew of his past sins. If that was the case... he would not be spared.

"So... you know who I am..."

The eerie blue glow came closer, illuminating a familliar grin. Asriel desperately wanted to rush to Frisks side to help her, to do something, anything! But right now he felt he wouldn't survive the attempt.

"if you are the real thing, that is. dead kids don't just come back to life, last i checked. And that expression... is the expression of someone who knows what they've done, and whats coming for them. there are many things in there, maybe even a scared child... but i've been fooled far too often."

Asriel struggled with how to explain the situation to his former nemesis.

"Please Sans... l- let me..." It felt like a rotten snail was stuck in his throat. He wanted to cry.

The skeleton continued his casual approach, the light gradually revealling his form. Something about him looked so tired of all of this.

"now don't get me wrong, Id love for the old lady to have her son back, but seeing you hunched over the lifeless body of my friend back there? paints a pretty bad picture. not to mention..."

Sans froze in his tracks, his casual exterior dropping completely. He stared at Frisks form, then back at Asriel. His pupils were nowhere to be seen.

" **What did you do to her soul?** "

Asriel finally managed to swallow the foul lump and stood up, raising his voice.

"SANS, please just let me explain! Frisk brought me back to life by giving me half of her soul, but now shes... n- not getting up and I'm scared for her... so...so please let me go help her!"

All was silent for a moment. Then there was a low rumble, almost like choking. It was hollow and bitter, carrying an undertone of apathy. It was Sans chuckling.

"...sorry kid... i've been fooled too often."

Something snapped in Asriel, he couldn't take this any longer. He took off towards his friend.

"oh no you don't!"

Suddenly he felt himself slam into the ground with staggering force. His heart literally felt heavy. Sans however noticed Frisks body was affected too. That seemed to surprise and calm him a little. Not that Asriel could tell, he was preoccupied with seperating his face from the ground.

"so, you were telling the truth about _something_ it seems. still, I can't risk to let you through to her."

With a raise of his bony hand, a protective cage of blue bones was created around Frisk. It seemed there was no way to get through without being magically shredded.

"now, howsabout we take that soul piece from you, so the hero of the underground can live again?"

That was not a question. Asriels fighting instincts and centuries of expierience kicked in, overriding some of his inner turmoil. He would have to create an opening.

Sans took the shift in the kid's demeanor as his cue to attack. Huge white bones rose from the ground, encircling Asriel, swinging and stabbing at him from all sides. He weaved in between them, eventually getting out of the deadly formation, with a fair ammount of difficulty and sores. He was not used to dodging like this, being rootet to the ground for so long. Asriel made a stand, and let out a strained yell, as a dozen of Stars, glowing in all the colours of the rainbow, appeared around him.

The skeletons eyes flashed in mild surprise as the volley of shooting stars was let loose on him. He dodged every one of them with practiced ease, while Asriel made another go towards Frisk. But instead of the blue cage, he saw the huge face of death staring at him with a fully charged grin. The boy twisted to the side, just before the Gaster blaster fired, but his arm was still caught in the beam, flooding the entire limb with red hot pain. Asriel fell on his side, whimpering, clutching his arm, barely seeing the cage through blurred eyes. He scrambled forwards, thinking of nothing else than reaching his friend.

Sans had to admit, the kid was persistent, determined even, and resillient. But why did he aim his attack in the skeletons general direction, instead of directly at him? And why was he so willing to put himself in harms way to get to Frisk? The tears weren't helping ether. Sans was beginning to feel bad about fighting this one.

Asriel got up, seeing the cage right in front of him, and Sans hesitating for a moment. Now or never.

"Hang on Frisk!

He charged at the wall of bones, preparing his magic once more.

 _whats the kid doing now? theres no way he is getting through that!_

That thought however did not stop Sans from charging another blaster above his head, just in case. Asriel thrust his palm forward launching a blazing Star at the cage. But before it could reach the bony blue bars, it was blasted out of the air, and dissipated.

But the boy did not stop. He ducked, rolling under the still active beam of the Gaster blaster, and ran right into the bone wall. He barely had time to summon another burst of magic, the last of his power, and crashed through the bones palm first. The blast did little to disperse the magic cage, but what little it did, it may have saved Asriels life. Still, the pain was horrible as the bones snagged him, protesting his movement all the way through.

Exhausted, battered and beaten, he collapsed next to Frisk. The golden flowers all around him, his body feeling like it coud burst into dust at any bump, this whole scenario was so familliar. But he turned his head, and saw what was different this time. This time he was not alone, and he still had something to do.

Sans was terribly conflicted. It had been hard watching the kid go throug all that. His cold, calculating side was telling him to end it now, but... he couldn't. He chalked it up to being lazy. So Sans just watched, like he always did.

 _don't make me regret this, kiddo._

* * *

 _Frisk couldn't tell what was going on, she was barely conscious, it felt like she was dreaming. there was inky black darkness all around her, save for a strange landscape that she floated high above. She remembered succeeding in pulling her soul apart, and managing to direct one half into the monster she was trying to save. Then everything went blank. Was this what death felt like without reloads? A force was pulling her into the void, but something was tethering her to the landscape below. Was it... determination? This was all so weird. Frisk called out, but nobody came. Then she heard a strange sound. It was like a very distorted voice, talking to her. Symbols appeared in her mind, she was sure she had seen them before, but she couldn't make sense of them. The voice tried again a few more times to make itsself understood, but to no avail. Frisk wanted to ask something, when she suddenly felt herself being pushed downwards, falling to the ground below, then she impacted, and spread out, until she had become one with the ground._

* * *

Asriel propped himself up, and looked upon his dear friend. The one who had done so much for him. The glow was still there, over her chest, but it was weak. Instinctively, Asriel knew what to do. He placed his hands over the soul. He ignored the bones of the cage that were now pointing at him from all sides, and pushed the glow all the way into her chest. There was a jolt, one that Asriel could feel in his own chest as well.

Slowly, colour returned to her face, while Asriel felt his body stabilizing as well, some of the sores even dissapearing. Frisk opened her eyes. Not many would notice, but Asriel could tell. She reached up, placing a hand on the side of his snootle, feeling the soft fur. He took hold of the smooth hand, tears running over it.

"Azzy... don't be such a crybaby..."

"Fisk.. you idiot... don't do that ever again..."

"...I promise nothing..."

"Haha... dammit Frisk..."

They were both so relieved and exhausted, they fell asleep right then and there. They barely saw the bones dissipate as consciousness faded, and a familliar figure coming towards them.

* * *

For the first time in an eternity, Asriel dreamed. Being soulless meant no dreams, so it was a fantastic expierience, even though it was a confused mess. He dreamed of memories, but not all of them were his. He dreamed of _falling down a cave_ , of _making spaghetti for his brother, then seeing his brother's head fall off_. He dreamed of _glorious fights with giant swords, big sparkly eyes, his favourite tea, and butterscotch... or cinamon?_ He dreamed of many other images, but he also dreamed of _his old life with mom and dad, and Frisk...no wait that was Chara. She was crying because she didn't have any eyes. She wanted to have Asriel's eyes instead. She reached out, her face melting until it was dripping to the floor._

* * *

Asriel awoke with a start, gasping for air and sweating. He took a few seconds to realize he was in a bed, and he had been dreaming.

"Hah... that wasn't... very nice afterall..." he hushed.

But then he looked around, and saw he was still dreaming, he had to be. There he was, tucked in bed in his old room, like no time had passed since then. He looked around, and saw in the other bed...

"Ch-... Chara...?"

His fur stood on end as he slipped out of bed, the cool of the room washing over him as he left the blankets. This all felt too real. He crept over to the other bed, the floorboards creaking faintly. With uncertain paws he pulled back the covers of the bed ever so slightly. No.. that was Frisk. This was no dream. He felt relief... but also a shadow of dissapointment. Despite everything, he still missed his lost sibling.

But he returned to the present, when he saw that Frisk had troubled sleep too. Hesitating for a moment, he then crawled under the covers, in an attempt to comfort Frisk with his presence. Frisk soon latched onto him, which quickly turned into a cuddle. "Azzy..." She murmured. He couldnt tell if she was awake. Asriel felt a pang of embaressment, but returned the huddle. After everything they went through, the warmth of this moment was such a blessing. Soon he drifted off to sleep again, this time, sure to have a peaceful rest.

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 **A/N: Im beginning to get a feeling for how this will continue, and im pleased with how this turned out, but I'll still need your feedback to turn this into the best it can be, so your thoughts are greatly appreciated! Man that sentence was long. Speaking of length, chapters will probably be around 2000 words, and maybe a few extra long ones. But when determining length, what is more important to me than word count is the content of the chapter. I hope you find that agreeable.**

 **Thanks for reading, and have a great day!**

 **~Lonesome Sage**


	3. Concern and comfort

**A/N: Hey guys! Didn't expect me to be back with more so soon, eh? Sadly it can't always be this quick, a lot of stuff has been cropping up, so the next one might be a while. But, you have my word that I will stick with this story, and see it completed. So far it's been great fun writing this, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.**

 **Disclaimer: Undertale and all ist characters are still owned by Toby Fox.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Concern and comfort**

Frisk blinked, waking up to the sound of her cell phone recieving a text. She didn't want to get up though, not when she was so nicely snuggled aganst a big warm pillow. That pillow was even better than the ones in MTT resort, it was soft, had the best shape to cuddle into, felt nice and fuzzy against her cheek, was breathing steadily, and... wait, what now?

The human turned her head to see Asriel sleeping peacefully. Oh. She remembered. Then she looked around, and recognized where she was. Old Home. Or just 'Home', as the king had aptly named it. This was the room Toriel had given her when she first arrived here, the same bed even. Part of her just wanted to go back to a cuddly sleep with the Dreemurr. Heh. Dreemurr. Sleep. Sans would probably find a pun to crack there. Come to think of it, she seemed to remember seeing Sans recently, and... fighting... him? No, something was wrong here.

The human was groggy, but the text, the memories, and how they got here, were nagging her too much to let her sleep again. She propped herself up with an ellbow, carefully, so as not to wake Asriel up... _Asriel!_ The goatlike monster had a couple visible sore marks on him, and his sweatshirt was torn, smudged and burnt in some places. By now Frisk was fully awake, panicking slightly, and quite frankly peeved at whoever had... _Sans? What's going on with my memories? Did Sans attack me or... Azzy?_

She climbed out of bed, again careful not to wake her friend. She noticed a few things were different about the room. For one, it had another bed in it, across from hers. It looked out of place, and recently used, but empty. Then she saw her cell phone on the dresser, glowing with the newly recieved message, and next to that... _Food?_ Her stomach grumbled at the mere thought. Sure enough, there seemed to be a care packet of some of the best foods from all over the Underground. Next to it was a note that simply read 'i'm sorry'. The font was unmistakeable. Well... now she was certain _something_ had happened with Sans. She picked up her cell phone, and saw there was a message from Toriel

 _Hello my child,_

 _how are you doing? I haven't heard from you in quite a while. Sans told us not to worry, and I understand you need time to say goodbye, but still, I hope you will join us soon. We wish to see the surface together._

 _L-O-L (This time it means lots of love)_

 _-Toriel ]: )_

Frisk smiled as she read the message. It seemed everyone was okay for now, and that whatever went wrong with Sans was already resolved, but she still needed to know. She responded to the text, telling her friend and guardian that she would be on her way back as soon as she had rested a bit, and that she also loved her a lot. It was then that she felt like there was a gaze on her. She turned to see Asriel up and awake, sneaking around behind her, making funny gestures. He immediately stopped.

"Haha, I was wondering when you would see me."

"Azzy!" The human almost toppled him with a hug. "Are you hurt?"

"Hey, easy there Frisk! Im still a bit sore, but mostly I'm ok, and um...since when did you have that nickname for me?" He rubbed his ear sheepishly.

 _*ACT *Flirt_

"...since the first time I saw you, sweetcakes." She hushed with a flirty smile.

Much to her enjoyment, the fuzz on Asriels cheeks wasn't thick enough to hide his blush.

"Friiiisk, stop being so weird!"

After many laughs were had, they decided to move to the livingroom. They took the packet of snacks with them.

"So Sans left these?" Asriel was even more surprised than her.

Frisk nodded. "Seems like it... Do you know what happened with him?"

He grimaced, not looking forward to recounting that whole fiasco. At least he had someone to talk to. They sat down in Toriel's big comfy reading chair. It was almost the size of a small couch to them. Breaking a cinnamon bunny for the two of them, Asriel began to tell Frisk about everything that had happened, since she tried that crazy idea of hers. Frisks expression changed only minimally throughout the tale, as always, but it spoke volumes to him.

"In the end I can't really blame him... He's been through so much loss and suffering, so many times over... a good part of it because of me... I'm not sure he knows I was Flowey all this time, otherwise I don't think he'd forgive me... or even let me live..."

Frisk frowned. She didn't like it when Asriel got so down on himself, but she knew he had his reasons. And she was determined to stick with him.

"How can you be so sure? I forgave you." she argued.

Asriel held back a scoff. He knew she meant well, but it just wasn't that simple!

"But Frisk, you have no idea of the ammount of suffering I've caused! The lives I've torn apart, again and again, out of sheer boredom! You wern't even there to see most of what I did!"

"Nether were you!"

The Dreemurr was dumbfounded by such a rertort. "...What?"

Her face softened again as she explained what she meant.

"Flowey was soulless, so your soul, who you really are, wasn't even in there! You are an entirely different person than Flowey, Asriel."

This seemed to help Asriel a little, but he was still doubtful.

"But... Flowey, and those memories, are still a part of me... and if what you say is true, then... am I really Asriel now?"

Frisk hadn't thought of that. Come to think of it, how had she known that what she did was the right thing to do, or that it had any chance of working? She didn't. She had felt it. And for now, that would have to be enough.

"Well... do you feel like Asriel?" She asked gently.

He got quiet for a moment, looking down at his paws, inspecting the fur on them, and the small claws that protruded from each digit.

"I... guess I do... I mean... I feel so many things now, its overwhelming! It's wonderful, and I can never thank you enough for what you did, but... I'm so confused..."

The boy buried his head in his hands, not knowing what to do with himself. Frisk rested a hand on his back.

"Its okay Azzy... Maybe when you see mom and dad, you will feel like yourself again."

Suddenly he shivered, his eyes tearing up again. "...M-mom... and d-..dad...?" Waves of raw emotion washed over him. Under all those gruesome memories and dark thoughts was still a little child, one that hadn't seen their parents for a long, long, long time. Once again Frisk was there to comfort him.

"Im being silly again, arent I? I haven't even seen them yet, and I already get like this."

Frisk just took his shoulders, giving him an understanding and supportive look. Frisk had teased him before, but really she admired his emotional strength. How many would have gone insane from his ordeal, even with a full human soul? Maybe human souls were more powerful in terms of raw power, but emotionally? Frisk couldn't think of monsters as anything less than humans in that regard.

Once he was feeling better, she split a bisicle for them, and they just enjoyed eacothers company by the enchanted fire, that was still burning after all this time. After a while, Asriel asked something he felt he should have asked much earlier.

"So Frisk... how do you feel? You... tore your soul apart! I don't think anyone has ever done that before. Are you okay?"

It was almost funny that they would talk about this only now, they had just been so preoccupied. Frisk thought about it for a moment

"Im okay Azzy, but I noticed something wierd. When I saw you were hurt, I... remembered the fight with Sans, but, as if I was in your place. First I thought I was half asleep, and having a strange dream, but it was just like what you told me about it..."

The human was only realizing the implications of this now. Asriel looked very concerned at this. The last thing he wanted, was for her to have to see all the grueling memories he was burdened with, even worse, to remember them as if they were her own! He felt horrible just thinking about it.

"So... you saw my memory of it? Did you... see any other memories too?"

Frisk knew where he was going with this. She put his fears to rest. He exhaled in relief.

"But still, thats strange... do you think we have some kind of... connection now?"

 _Sure we have, hot stuff._

The poor boy blushed furiously. How did she always catch him off guard like that?

"C- Come on Frisk, be serious...!" He huffed in mild annoyance.

His flushed face quickly morphed into one of puzzlement, then astonishment, when he realized her mouth hadn't moved. From the stunned look the human sported, she had come to the same realization.

"We can speak with our thoughts now?!" Asriel yelped.

This was going way too fast for the resurrected prince, and Frisk wasn't sure what to make of that ether. She shrugged in a way that said 'maybe?'

"That would be so wierd... but also kinda cool!"

After initial bewilderment, they got excited at the possibilities. They tried sending eachother thoughts, back and forth, but to no further avail.

"Maybe we can ask Alphys to help figure this out? She knows a lot about how souls work." The human offered.

The monster's expression souered at the mention of her name. He had always resented her after the time he spent in her lab as a flower. But, looking at it now, he wouldn't be here with Frisk, and about to be with his family again, if it weren't for her fateful experiments, all that time ago.

"Yeah... maybe we can." he managed a smile.

That was enough for them for now. After finishing their unisicles, they decided to begin their journey back to the others. They packed the remaining food items, and Asriel changed into a new sweatshirt, much like his old one, but a bit dusty. He sneezed. It was the cutest sneeze Frisk had ever heard, but she decided she had teased him enough for now, so she just smiled warmly and helped him dust off. Once all preperations were made, they went on ahead and left the old home through the basement tunnel, all rested and refreshed.

Asriel had mixed feelings leaving this place, but he couldn't fathom how much he was looking forward to meeting his parents again, and all of Frisk's friends on top of that. It still felt a bit unreal. Frisk too was looking forward to everyone being together. Her journey through the Underground had been long and arduous, but for the great friends she'd made and brought together, and all the great times they'd had, it had all been worth it. She looked at the fuzzy boy walking by her side, a bright smile on his face. _Definitely_ worth it.

They reached the great door to the snowy forest. The children could hear and feel the cold draft, that permeated these huge caverns, whistle through the gaps. Together they pushed it open, and set foot in the snow. Together, they set off on their trip to the Riverperson. Frisk was somewhat used to the cold by now, and Asriel had his fur, but still, it was nice to have someone to hold your hand on this snowy path.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, Id say that rounds off the intro arc, and the journey is only beginning! As you can tell by now I Focus heavily on emotion and character, but Action will not be absent ether, as well as other underliying themes. At this Point I'm still not sure what genres to put this in, so feel free to tell me which ones you would find most fitting, based on what you have read so far. Any other thoughts or constructive criticisms greatly appreciated, as always!**

 **Thanks for reading, and have a great day!**

 **~Lonesome Sage**


	4. Rejoice and rumination

**A/N: Hey guys, I am officially back! Sorry for keeping you waiting. I successfully got through my first case of writers block, plus all of the other stuff that life piled on me. Good stuff mind you, it was jus a lot. Now lets get right into it, shall we?**

 **Disclaimer: Undertale and all it's characters yet belong to Toby Fox**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Rejoice and rumination**

The path they walked on was well known to the children, especially to Asriel. He remembered having seen this place, and every other place in the entire Underground, enough times to make even the most nostalgic character sick with repetition. And yet, now was different. Everything suddenly had life again, as if the colours had returned after a milennia of black and white. Even though most of the colour here was white, but that was beside the point. It still all felt a bit surreal, but the cold air filling his chest, and the crunchy snow under his feet helped him grasp the reality of the situation.

Before, he remembered having watched- no, rather stalked Frisk, as she made her way through the cold, enjoying the punny antics and playful puzzles of the skeletal brothers. It was like studying a strange creature, exhibiting traits and behaviours he no longer understood - fun, joy, kindness. But now, as they passed each landmark, he couldn't help chuckling to himself at the memories, just as Frisk was smiling in enjoyment. Now it finally made sense to him! He expressed these feelings to his companion.

"Don't you mean it makes Sans to you now?" She asked coyly.

"...too soon, Frisk." The boy rerurned dryly, but it did not cover up his myrth.

Still, both of them felt strange as they passed deactivated puzzles and abandoned sentry stations, seeing these sights for the last time before, well, whatever came next in their journey. They only saw glimpses and traces of other monsters, like a Gyftrot sleeping under a distant tree, and a Whimsum fluttering past apologetically. Frisk knew the monsters were gathering in Snowdin, but she was still a bit concerned when she didn't see the snowman in his usual spot.

The plate of frozen spaghetti, on the other hand, was still there, eternally bonded and preserved with it's frigid surroundings. The mouse, however, had been busy too, as there was a significant stack of sticks and twigs next to the mouse hole, as well as miniature flint and tinder. It really did never give up, which brought an inspired smile to the children's faces, and refreshed their _DETERMINATION_.

Crawling through a maze of snaking snow dogs, Asriel was doing quite well in his new, or rather, old form. It was only when they came upon the large expanse of ice, that continued in a thin bridge through a thicket of trees, that it was obvious he was still getting used to having legs again. Or arms, for that matter. His short toe claws stopped him from sliding off to the side immediately. He held onto Frisk's soulders, and together they skidded across, laughing and stumbling all the way.

As they made the final stretch, and came to the bridge into town, they could already make out the hustle and bustle of celebration and preperation. The bridge was well worn, but it carried them faithfully. Frisk could feel Asriel getting nervous. The first encounter with another monster after his return hadn't gone so well, so understandably, he looked towards the townsfolk with trepidation. Frisk herself felt a shred of dread towards the impending reactions and explainations, no matter how much she looked forward to them rejoining the others.

Finally they arrived on the other side, and regarded the welcome banner happily. They just wanted to continue on, when they saw a dog head, dramatically raising itself over top of it, eyes squinting back and forth suspiciously.

"Hello? Did I see someone arrive?" Doggo inquired to no one in particular.

Frisk waved at him, smiling, even more so when the sentry dog litterally jumped at the sight of familliar movement, over the wall of cloth.

"Frisk! So you've returned from your trip to the ruins... I have the the mission to watch out for new arrivals, so everyone is accounted for. It's very important!" He yapped. Proudly?

Sometimes it was hard to tell with dogs, but Frisk found them cute, even when they swung spears, axes and doggers at her. The seasoned sentry just wanted to ask her about her sightings of other monsters, when he noticed a quiveing shape behind the small human.

"Hey you, come out so I can see you! Do you belong with the local bunnys?" he asked, barely making out long floppy ears.

All the lost prince could see when looking at the happy townsfolk right now, were memories of tearing them and their happiness to a thousand pieces, sometimes with vines and pellets, sometimes through deceit and trickery. Moving against the weight of guilt and fear, Asriel stepped forth. Regardless of what would happen, the truth of his return had to come out. As he moved, the dog's expression grew in astonishment. When he suspected his eyes of failing him, he leaned in close to sniff the child's head. Unlike most dogs, he rarely fell back on his sense of smell, but it only confirmed what the features of the young face had told him.

"Theres no mistake about it..." He uttered as he backed off. "You... are part of the Dreemurr Dynasty! But how? Our king hasn't had an offspring since..."

He lost his words. Everyone knew the tale, but seldom was it even mentioned. The one in question spoke up, a sliver of courage and royal etiqette kicking in.

"H-howdy! I am Asriel Dreemurr, son of Lord Asgore and Lady Toriel, crown prince of monsters... or.. w-well... I was..."

As quickly as it had come, that sliver was gone again, leaving only terror and resolve. By now a growing crowd had gathered, surrounding the three of them with puzzled stares and whispers of wonder. For a few moments no one seemed to know how to react to this situation. Frisk could _feel_ what the suspense was doing to her friend. It was indescribable. Finally, the great brown bear stepped through the front line, the others giving way. This town had no mayor, but the bears often took the role of public speakers, due to their imposing, but calm voice and demeanor.

"People of Snowdin!" He anounced with a booming voice. "I have wonderous news to announce! Our prince, Asriel Dreemurr, has returned to us!"

In a cascede of realization, the cofusion turned into exuberant joy. The crowd errupted in celebration as they gathered around. Some fell to their knees, expressing their reverence and loyalty to the royal family, others danced and sung. The bunny sisters and Grillby brought more trays of their best treats for everyone to enjoy. Ice wolf could barely hold back greater dog from crushing the new arrivals with love and attention. They were not just welcoming back the long lost prince of their people, they were welcoming back one of their own. On other days, they might have been more bewildered at this turn of events, or even sceptical, but this was already a day of miracles and family reunions, and they werent about to turn away another. All the worry and fear Asriel held flowed away with tears of relief, and a deep sense of belonging filled him. To say he was touched by their uncompromising love, would be the understatement of many years.

 _Monsters are weird..._

Still, none of them knew of his past, and maybe it was better they'd never, but he didn't feel right being the center of celebration. Or at least, the only one. With a somewhat mushy voice, he managed to speak.

"Thank you, everyone, your support means so much to me. But it wouldn't be possible for me to be here without the help of my friend, Frisk... the hero of the Underground!"

A second roar filled the air. Truly, he would never be able to express enough grattitude. He hoped he would prove worthy of this second chance. More so, he was determined to. Looking at her, the colour of her cheeks told him, that she was just as flustered at all the attention as he was. Resting a paw on her shoulder, the human returned the gesture, as they shared this moment. Magic fireworks began to illuminate the cavern cieling. The festivities showed no signs of slowing down.

* * *

Meanwhile, perched on a neighbouring cliff, one of Snowdin's sentrys watched the commotion with a troubling mix of Apathy, and more invested emotions. Thankfully the bears had heeded him, when he told them who was coming, and to prepare for them to pass through without much harry. Sans kept his exterior to nearly everyone, but he did have his connections.

The Bears knew there was more than meets the eye to his ability to procure almost any information, and to traverse the Underground with such ease, but they respected his secrets, and even protected them on occasions, even though they didn't really know them themselves. It was a delicate bond of trust. They saw that Sans was good for the village, and Monsterkind in general, bringing lightheartedness in troubled times, as well as useful information about current ongoings, and all that despite him doing "nothing" all day.

He rested his face in his bony palm, rubbing his rims tiredly. "what am i even doing..." He muttered to himself for the... he'd lost count. And he rarely lost count.

"none of this matters anyway. The next reset will happen, and then..."

Or so he told himself. He wasn't sure anymore if he even wanted the timeline to continue normally. Not that he didn't crave the solace and serenity of a permanent happy ending deep in his bones, but when was the last time he allowed himself to think that? Never in all his premenitions, dreams and memories had Asriel returned. What did it mean? Was it going to be different this time? Would time _actually move on_ now? And now his apathy had almost led him to kill Toriel's long lost son, and in the same stroke, probably Frisk as well...wait, was that apathy or caring that drove him to do that? Or fear? He couldn't tell.

Ironically, the skeleton, who had used his juxtaposition among the timelines to act as a judge, had forgotten what it was like to live with consequences. Lasting ones anyway. Right now, Flowey wasn't there to torment him about his failings, but he didn't need any help doing that himself. What would the others do once it got out? What would _Toriel_ do _?_ Vistas of all kinds haunted his skull, from painful rejection to cold judgement. Would he simply go from a fluctuating hell to a constant one? Well, at least they could be happy... maybe they wouldn't laugh about his puns anymore, but at least, they could mabe laugh about his _pun_ -ishment? His grin had never seemed so fake to him.

He had tried to enjoy his time with the wonderful goat lady as long as he could, but it had felt wrong to him. He had stayed long enough to quell her worries, and then excused himself from everyone's presence in his typical manner. Part of him just wanted to get it over with, and just tell her right then and there what had happened, and what he had done, but maybe it was best she saw the kid with her own eyes first.

 _guess she'll hear it from him then._

Of course his self-loathing intensified at his cowardice, but maybe this time it was better to let things play out on their own. Or was it just a bad excuse for being lazy again? Like he did every so often when nobody was around, he asked no one in particular out loud what they thought of all this.

No one answered.

Nobody came.

Sans suddenly felt like he was being watched, and when _nobody_ answered him in a jumble of strange sounds in the back of his mind, he freaked out.

 _ **Lirni Alhus E ,a Ontnesrgm**_

The skeleton whipped around to find nothing behind him. Sans is not someone easily frightened, In fact even the most impossible or horrific scenarios tend to leave him with nothing but cold resolve. But something about the voice that barely touched reality, deeply unsettled him, and caused him eyeflares and skull aches.

"what's going on here?" he asked cautiously.

The voice responded.

 _ **Onl Eu6vu Ta6 Fs Et**_

His eye was flaring uncontrollably, and he could almost see a glimpse of- _nothing._ There was nothing here. As quickly as they had come, the flares, the voice, all traces of anything strange being afoot vanished, as if they were never there in the first place.

And the sentry was left alone to his thoughts once more.

* * *

 **A/N: *Huff* This chapter was the most difficult for me so far, and not just because of the writers block. So what do you think, how did the scene turn out? Anyway, this was good warm-up for the eventual reactions of the various main cast characters, I look forward to doing that. The story will also branch out to explore the other characters more as it goes along. Hopefully the next update will be quicker.  
**

 **Thanks for reading, and have a great day!**

 **~Lonesome Sage**


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